Every year during the month of October, thousands of devotees gather around the Inle Lake to watch Buddha passing by on his royal barge resembling the mythical karaweik bird.

The spectacle illuminated by the golden rays that fall on Inle Lake marks the beginning of a two week long festive celebration that signals the end of Buddhist lent.

Held at the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda in the southern Shan State, the ceremonious procession of the royal barge pulled across the lake by leg rowers  wherein  treasured inside layers of gold leap wrapping rests Buddha’s relics in nothing short of a royal entourage.

DVB captures this tradition preserved in its heartland during the pagoda festival at Inle Lake

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